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Gallup Poll: Nowhere to go but up for Congress

Americans still aren't wowed by Congress, but after hitting record low job-approval ratings last year the new year appears a little more promising. The 113th Congress begins the year with a 13% approval

Americans still aren't wowed by Congress, but after record low job-approval ratings were hit in 2012 the new year could at least be thought of as an improvement.

Congress begins the year with a 13% approval rating in a Gallup Poll published Friday — the lowest level for members of the House and Senate since September. Eight in 10 Americans say they disapprove of the way Congress is doing its job, Gallup finds.

At one point last year, the job-approving rating for Congress dipped as low as 9% in a CBS/New York Times poll. The low point in the Gallup Poll was 10%, measured last August.

The new year started off rough for Congress, with a vote to avert a "fiscal cliff" of rising tax rates and automatic spending cuts. Most tax cuts enacted while George W. Bush was president were made permanent by Congress, but tax rates rose for individuals who make more than $400,000 a year.

There has also been squabbling over emergency aid to help victims of Superstorm Sandy.

Frank Newport of Gallup says there is a silver lining to Congress' woes.

"One bit of good news for the new Congress is that its current job-approval ratings are so low that they have practically nowhere to go but up," Newport writes on the Gallup website.

The Gallup Poll of 1,011 adults was taken Monday through Thursday. It has a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points.